Previously . . . ﻿About ﻿﻿B﻿﻿lokeFest﻿For the FOURTH year running on one weekend in June we’re going to sing like blokes, act like men and get to be one of the guys. Our guiding philosophy is that singing is a truly manly activity as long as you sing the right stuff, in the right way, with the right men:

think Shanties not shandiesLumberjack not TimberlakeDiY not R’n'B.

The plan is simple. We're going to meet at a pub in middle Wiltshire with its own Campsite and the weekend unfolds like this . . .

We will most likely be hiring a coach for those who wish to fully partake of their wares. (FYI This might be a few quid extra for partakers).

Then it is back to the pub for some singing, a "Proper Darts Tournament" , some drinks, some (semi-)organized singing and bed at a reasonable time - it's a busy day ahead!

Saturday - we'll be having numerous singing workshops and learning blokey songs from some well-known singing men (see below) with the return of our BlokeFest Big Top! We'll be hosting a communal evening meal, not forgetting our veggie and gluten-free brethren, and this year again there will be proper salad and maybe even puddings! We will then head back to the Big Top where the various men's groups - and anyone else who fancies entertaining us - will entertain the gathered throng with the world famous "BlokeFest Cabaret".

This year we may be encouraging people to collaborate within and across groups on joint pieces and to plan well ahead and we may well also be introducing some "quality thresholds" and stricter time limits to ensure things tick along. We may even sort some lights out to be able to see what's going on! Also we may have some bar facilities inside or nearer the tent. Either way, start practicing your party pieces (more later) and bring your deckchairs!

Sunday - We'll have another Sunday Morning Workshop and then we'll be most likely doing some things to encourage healthy exercise and daftness like the "Tug o' War" and possibly a couple of other things.

Then we will most likely have a "Big Farewell" and some of us will have to depart and some of us will go off hiking a couple of miles to have a bit of exercise before returning to the Bruce Arms for a Father's Day lunch where family and friends will be encouraged to join us. On the way we will conduct sonic experiments at lower frequencies, singing songs as we go. We'll return for a final sing and break camp during the afternoon.

﻿﻿Ticket﻿﻿﻿Prices﻿﻿﻿- as of end of 2014 the pricing is likely to remain held at 2012 prices!We're not doing this to make a profit, just have fun and cover costs whilst trying to balance raising the standars of stuff, in particular the catering. This is the pricing structure we're working to:

Registration is now closed, er, until it is opened again soon(ish)... but make sure you sign up

Where? This year we are returning to darkest mid Wiltshire and we
will be camping at and drinking in The Bruce Arms
near Pewsey in the heart of Wiltshire. The Bruce ArmsEaston RoadEaston RoyalPewseyWiltshireSN9 5LRIt’s got a campsite next door and does great food and the beers are not bad either!

The Bruce Arms, nicknamed the Gammon, is situated between the villages of Easton Royal and Milton Lilbourne near Pewsey in Wiltshire. Built between 1848 and 1855 by the Salmonach Estate, which owned many pubs. It came about after the original Coaching Inn, The Gammon of Bacon, situated opposite, burnt down. The only part of the Inn remaining is the water pump - which still works! There is access via foot or cycle to the the glorious Pewsey Vale - Crofton Beam Engines, Wilton Windmill and the Kennet and Avon Canal.The Games Room offers Darts, Pool, Table Tennis, Skittles and even Short Mat Bowls plus of course the space for whatever we want to do and we will have our very own BlokeFest Big Top ! for the workshops and Cabaret.

The UK Spooks (aka A Fistful of Spookies)
Each time The Spooky Men’s Chorale tour the UK they seem to pick up
another Brit or two. Chris Samuel in ‘07, Adrian Mealing in ‘09, Philip
Read and Michael Carlyon in ‘11 and James Sills (you already know about
him) in ’13. This last means that we now have all the parts covered and
have started performing the odd gig together (some very odd!) as ‘A
Fistful of Spookies’.
We’ll also be leading a session at this year’s Blokefest and as we’re
hoping for 80 or more singers this year, we’ll be teaching a Georgian
song for two choirs so we can have a Massed Blokefest Sing-off. If you’ve never come across the Spooks – take a look here: http://www.spookymen.com

Other workshop leaders To be confirmed, partly as a surprise and partly because they are, er, to be confirmed.

But plenty of MEN.SINGING.AND STUFF for everyone.

﻿Well done for getting to the end but you are just a little EARLY to book your place just now﻿!